|
|
Aloha Rome
|
|
|
We were also able to tour the upper deck of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Capitoline Museums for free. Very swell. Our (read, my) biggest disappointment was that even the sculpture portion of the Villa Borghese was closed until June (we were there in April). The Palazzo Spada, though rather small (only four rooms, though they are each jam-packed with paintings and sculptures), received high marks for having guidebooks in each room in English.
For animal lovers (which we both are), the incredible cat sanctuary at Torre Argentina was a real treat. One of my favorite parts of the trip was meeting with the volunteers and cats. At least one of the volunteers is perfectly fluent in English and the work they are doing is nothing short of amazing. I had read a lot about the "Rome cats" prior to my visit and how protected they are, so it came as a sad surprise to find that the archaeologists are trying to get these marvelous women tossed out. Anything you guys could do in their behalf would be really helpful and I would consider it a great personal favor (yeah, that likely I could never repay). But ANY animal lovers (not only do they neuter the cats, but also keep them from spreading diseases to other cats), you understand the service these dedicated ladies are providing to Rome. About our last day in Florence, we recognized how many churches there were (kidding). Really, though, we did, from there on out, visit every church (maybe we missed one or two) that was open along our way. We might actually go so far as to suggest a similar plan to others. Even the tiny, seemingly unassuming churches often have these lovely treasures (to my eyes). My absolute favorite (I did a daily pilgrimage, once I recognized how close it was to our hotel) was Chiesa Santa Maria d. Vittoria. (an aside: there are three (yes! 3) churches all within spitting distance - almost literally - in this particular square). S. Maria d. Vittoria contains - for me - the ultimate piece of art anywhere on the planet. Bernini's "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa". If by some slim chance you haven't seen it...you know what to do. Other churches held similar famous and glorious works of art that anyone can visit - for free (though it took us a while to figure out that churches are only open in the mornings and late afternoons). More food stuff: Artichokes: are they seasonal? One way or another, we suggest that you strongly recommend on the web page that folks have them if they can. We're ruined, as far as artichokes go in this country. "Hello! we've had Roma artichokes; what are these things???" Birra - we found that if you don't specify Birra Nationale, the waiter assumes, because you're an American - or maybe just not Italian - you want a Heineken. Not! The local beer is much better. Ask for it (sort of) by name. Roma pizza surprised us, particularly after Florence. Almost a calzone. We availed ourselves of a Tavalo Caldo near the Spanish Steps one afternoon and found that the food was rather more than adequate, the selection good and the prices really reasonable. Don't let anyone leave Italy without having had gelatto. It was pretty cold when we were there (ok, yes; I live in the sub-tropics; again it's all relative). We actually didn't have gelatto until our last day and regretted not partaking in it sooner (and more frequently). Other stuff: we think we got good value for our exchange at the "no commission" shop(s) near the base of the Spanish Steps and continued to frequent the one farthest from the steps toward Piazza Popolo (still, it's only two blocks or something). Bank hours appeared to be terribly sporadic to us tourists, so we never checked there, but even the worst no commission place was still a better deal than the American Express office (of which we both had their travelers checks). A final couple suggestions gleaned from our experience:
Ok. To sum up: La Rampa rules! Visit every church you can find. Eat artichokes. Love cats. Bring Mona Winks with you to the musei and chiese (don't think you'll remember what's in the book). Thank you darlings for helping us navigate this incredible city! aloha, Kat P.S., the Trevi holds - or at least held - our coins, and you know what that means! P.S.S. Additional abbreviated information on Florence follows: We met folks from Rome doing day trips, but based on our experience, we'd recommend a night-over there (the train trip is a couple hours each way). For anyone flying in and out of Milan with less time than money (though it's again relative), we'd definitely recommend a couple of days in Florence before Rome, then the sleeper car train back to Milan from Rome. For those without a generous sister traveling companion like me, I think one can make the same trip minus the sleeper compartment much cheaper. In Florence, we recommend:
You've probably noticed I didn't mention the famous Uffizi. There's (obviously) a reason. Many of the rooms (particularly sadly for me, the Caravaggio room) were closed. And like many other visitors I'd heard from (past and recently), the wait was long - though not as long as some waits I'd heard of. The Botticellis were impressive, but compared with Baroque Roma and Michaelangelo, not necessarily worth it. Particularly if you have only a short time in Florence, you might do well to explore the other sights. Copyright © 1997 Kathleen Dadey Questions about planning a similar trip? Comments for
the author? Jeanine is a corporate librarian in Pittsburgh and an award-winning amateur orchid enthusiast. Kathy is a peripatetic federal bureaucrat who has travelled extensively in the North Atlantic (including a month above the Arctic Circle) and Pacific Oceans on oceanographic research vessels. When Kathy wrote this article she was living in Hawaii ... of course. Although of Italian parentage, this was the first trip to Italy for both - but not the last! In a subsequent visit, Kathy adopted a cat from the Torre Argentina Republican Temples cat sanctuary. Read about Claudio's story. Would you like to add an article about your travel experiences in Europe? It's easy to do. Our Favorites Trip Tips and Tools Traveling
|
